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Dominican's do not receive a significant URM boost. Only PR/MA see a boost.

Awesome

Unfortunately, Dominican is not a URM. However, that shouldn't keep you from writing diversity statements if you feel you have something to add to the classroom. There's a fellow on LSN that received a substantial boost even though he was a non-URM hispanic, and I think this is in part to writing some really kicking essays.

Thanks this gives me some solace. I find it really strange that Dominicans are not URMs since we are for the most part half black and half hispanic!

Keep in mind that "black" is certainly URM as long as you're not an international student. If you're not at all black, though, then no.

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That's a tough one. TLS has been saying for years and years, "whatever you put on your undergrad app/SAT, put on your law school app." It does create a bit of a character and fitness conundrum to be situationally black for the boost, but I think you'd be able to explain that to anyone who was curious.

If I were in your shoes, I would not check any new boxes on my application, BUT, I would write a really compelling diversity statement about how all the people in my family contribute to making me a kick-ass individual (mentioning race).

My AA friend did this last cycle (he did it because he hates reporting his race on his applications, so never checks any boxes) and got the full boost everywhere he applied.

Thanks for the info twentypercentmore it has been enlightening. I think I'll do what you would do in my shoes since you clearly know more than me about this stuff lol.

twentypercentmore wrote:Unfortunately, Dominican is not a URM. However, that shouldn't keep you from writing diversity statements if you feel you have something to add to the classroom. There's a fellow on LSN that received a substantial boost even though he was a non-URM hispanic, and I think this is in part to writing some really kicking essays.

Link?

This is actually a hotly contested topic on here. The truth is that the way Hispanics are treated appears to vary by school; some schools don't even ask what kind of Hispanic you are and don't report separate MX/PR/other admissions numbers. It looks like law schools now only report enrollment of "All Hispanics" to the ABA, so they may care less than they used to about what type of Hispanic you are. (I'm looking at the ABA fact sheets for each school, on LSAC.org; in prior years, some schools would break this information out into MX/PR/other.) However, if you can show you'll add diversity to the student body through a DS or diversity-themed PS, that'll weigh greatly in your favor.

I'd certainly wait to apply if it'll improve your GPA. With a good DS, I think a 3.6/168 Hispanic has a good chance at the T14.

vanwinkle wrote:This is actually a hotly contested topic on here. The truth is that the way Hispanics are treated appears to vary by school; some schools don't even ask what kind of Hispanic you are and don't report separate MX/PR/other admissions numbers. It looks like law schools now only report enrollment of "All Hispanics" to the ABA, so they may care less than they used to about what type of Hispanic you are. (I'm looking at the ABA fact sheets for each school, on LSAC.org; in prior years, some schools would break this information out into MX/PR/other.) However, if you can show you'll add diversity to the student body through a DS or diversity-themed PS, that'll weigh greatly in your favor.

I'd certainly wait to apply if it'll improve your GPA. With a good DS, I think a 3.6/168 Hispanic has a good chance at the T14.

Do you think they 'boost' LSAT moreso than GPA?

VUSisterRayVU wrote:Do you think they 'boost' LSAT moreso than GPA?

Yes, I think so. A major argument for giving a "boost" is that URMs statistically perform worse on average than whites on standardized tests using the LSAT.

vanwinkle wrote:

VUSisterRayVU wrote:Do you think they 'boost' LSAT moreso than GPA?

Yes, I think so. A major argument for giving a "boost" is that URMs statistically perform worse on average than whites on standardized tests using the LSAT.

That's what I figured. Thank you very much!

You're going to HARVARD!

Dominican_Lawyer wrote:I am a hispanic male with a 3.53 GPA and a 168 LSAT what are my chances of T14 law schools. Also should I defer my application until next year since my fall grades will almost definitely push my GPA up to a 3.6 cumulative. Thanks

vanwinkle wrote:This is actually a hotly contested topic on here. The truth is that the way Hispanics are treated appears to vary by school; some schools don't even ask what kind of Hispanic you are and don't report separate MX/PR/other admissions numbers. It looks like law schools now only report enrollment of "All Hispanics" to the ABA, so they may care less than they used to about what type of Hispanic you are. (I'm looking at the ABA fact sheets for each school, on LSAC.org; in prior years, some schools would break this information out into MX/PR/other.) However, if you can show you'll add diversity to the student body through a DS or diversity-themed PS, that'll weigh greatly in your favor.

I'd certainly wait to apply if it'll improve your GPA. With a good DS, I think a 3.6/168 Hispanic has a good chance at the T14.

I agree with the above. Diversity matters a great deal to schools with 4-6 latinos in each class.

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twentypercentmore wrote:http://lawschoolnumbers.com/ads22

The problem with this person's profile is that he or she went to undergrad Ivy. YHS (and probably the rest of the T-14) seem to love and cater to minorities that went to elite undergrads. Ted Cruz (future U.S. Senator), Julian Castro (Mayor of San Antonio), Joaquin Castro (future U.S. House Congressman)- all of which attended HLS- went to elite undergrads. I bet that person's picket fence of acceptances would have had a few more holes in it if they had gone to an average undergrad. I know two URM's that attended HLS from my T-50 undergrad, so maybe I am wrong.

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Dominican_Lawyer wrote:So If I went to a state school specifically University of Connecticut than I will have a significantly more difficult time getting into a T-14 than a person with similar LSAT/GPA that went to an ivy. More importantly should I just give up on the T-14 since I didn't go to in ivy for ugrad.

I think the point is, it's hard to tell. The hispanic boost is very difficult to predict. I'm "other" hispanic with pretty much the same numbers as you and scraped into the T14 (non-ivy UG). It's possible, but not probable. A higher LSAT will give you a lot more peace of mind.

I have a similar GPA as you OP. Right now, the only thing holding me back is an LSAT score around the range you scored at. I agree with an earlier poster. You probably have a very good chance at Harvard (or Columbia or Stanford or whatever super elite school you fancy). If I score with an LSAT anywhere from 165+ on, I am applying to all of the T-14 + UT-Austin because I am from Texas. All three of the politicians I named earlier graduated with honors from their elite undergrads. In this down cycle, I think you (and hopefully me) have even more so of a good chance at the super elite schools. Don't be like some other URM's in past cycles (just search LSN for a while)-- they had similar numbers to yours and idiotically didn't apply to the super elite T-6 schools. I think socioeconomic status gets taken into account as well. To have that combo of GPA/LSAT, it is much more impressive if you come from an impoverished background than if you come from privilege. Across the board, most people (including all URM's) at the T-14 come from privileged backgrounds. The one thing you might want to consider is taking an extra semester of classes to boost your GPA slightly more in the upcoming spring semester and graduating then. You are probably OK right now though.

bizzybone1313 wrote:I have a similar GPA as you OP. Right now, the only thing holding me back is an LSAT score around the range you scored at. I agree with an earlier poster. You probably have a very good chance at Harvard (or Columbia or Stanford or whatever super elite school you fancy). If I score with an LSAT anywhere from 165+ on, I am applying to all of the T-14 + UT-Austin because I am from Texas. All three of the politicians I named earlier graduated with honors from their elite undergrads. In this down cycle, I think you (and hopefully me) have even more so of a good chance at the super elite schools. Don't be like some other URM's in past cycles (just search LSN for a while)-- they had similar numbers to yours and idiotically didn't apply to the super elite T-6 schools. I think socioeconomic status gets taken into account as well. To have that combo of GPA/LSAT, it is much more impressive if you come from an impoverished background than if you come from privilege. Across the board, most people (including all URM's) at the T-14 come from privileged backgrounds. The one thing you might want to consider is taking an extra semester of classes to boost your GPA slightly more in the upcoming spring semester and graduating then. You are probably OK right now though.

Yeah, I noticed that too. WTF were they thinking?